There's some really good cruising tips in Captain Mike's message below. Note that this message also appears on the Net's "Eastern Florida" section, as Mike's comments about the waters between Hallandale and Miami are more pertinent to this section of the Floridian coastline.

Subject: ICW Biscayne Bay to Channel Five
Cruising News: After a year of planning, and studying your cruising guides, we finally picked up our new Catalina 375 and sailed from West Palm Beach to Marathon for the winter.  Your guides were very valuable, and we used your Marina Recommendations and anchorage suggestions.  We had a very nice stay Lighthouse Marina after coming inside at Hallendale Inlet.  We then traveled inside to Downtown Marina in Miami.  It was the same price, $98 per night as LIghthouse but the bathrooms/showers were about half as nice, and the noise from the surrounding boats, clubs went on until after 2 pm.
We then traveled inside the ICW and I want to point out the depths were as advertised on the charts until, around Grouper Creek, where we were skimming bottom in parts with our 4'8" draft.  Other sailors in West Palm advised us to go outside at Angelfish Creek, but the winds and waves were a little rough for going outside.  I would report the depths inside the channel from Grouper Creek in Buttonwood Sound, south, were not as deep as reported, and I felt we were fortunate with our draft to make it, and welcomed the better depths outside the Channel 5 bridge.
Thanks again for all your guides, and web updates.
Mike Wolach